New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-29
GAMBLING IN BUCKET-SHOPS.
HOW SMALL SPECTATORS RISK MONEY
THE RESORTS OF VARIOUS CLASSES FROM BROKEN
DOWN RAILROAD PRESIDENTS TO MESSENGER

There is certain quarter OF the city in which they
will tell you that the American is natural born
gambler and they will bring lots of evidence to bear
to prove It, They will begin with the beginning OF
the man. his early days at school, when he CANDLES
with tops and marbles And in the they will
carry to his college days when he will sit up all
nighv game OF poker in the other, where with
an abbreviated common school education he indus
triousy sells paper, the streets to mako his STAKE
and then CANDLES the fruits of his industry. Both
these types they aver in alter lite seek the roulette
and the faro tables il they fairly successful anu
the college graduate is to strike the buctetshop
any way. because somehow gambling in stocks or oil
wheat pork cofee Ia, by of the eccentric
ties OF the present moral code, held 70 be thoroughly
respectable and praseworthy II pursued SUCCESS
fully BY this il is not intended to imply that riches
gained IN any way are honorable, and the gamers
bonored according to their Tile On the contrary
the daily dcnzens OF this certain quarter draw sharp
line between The who CANDLES tape and the
one who makes his money the green turf or tho
green CLOTH though what difference in principle there
may be between the industry OF the two it would be
hard to determine. Both produce nothing for the
benefit OF the community. but merely gamble upon
what others produce, and they are therefore the
dr0ncs in the hive of hum industry and their near
sighted opinions to the national prevalence OF the
instinct Tor gambling must be valued would
value the opinion OF uutrayecd rustic whose
world is bounded by his county
The certain quarter is, OF course. the neghborhood
oil Wall Street. and the certain denihens thereof who
are firmly convinced that this is a nation OF gamblers
the crowd that most do frequent what are known
bucket-shops 1t is taken tor granted that every
one knOws what bucket-shop is. The wealthy stock
broker would define it wicked place where
people bcs the lu-tu ltions of stocks, which IS
decidedly n demoralzng thing; and tho brokers'
clerk will tell that IL is Stock Exchange where
the poor man has IA equal chance to the extent of his
means with his rich employer Both these definitions
as II happens are IN measure correct And this can
| be shown by instance OF everyday occurrence IN
| the vicinity OF Wall Street.
THE BIG sPFCULArDR ASD THE LITTLE FISHES.
Mr. Won Goldsten telegrAphs his broker: 1" Sell ten
thousand Northwest" The broker says to him self
All the old fox is gong to get out" He losses tho
order to the bcokkeepei, and rusnes down to the
! Exchange.
The bookkeepsr, before entering it, takes a $50
bill from the till debts himself with IL the books,
ana calling messenger boy says TO him, Kun to
Handouts & Darby with this note and money. flyV
The boz flies out OF tho Office and around the corner
and then reads the note Sell for twenty shares
y. w. at 1851 Instead of going directly to
tho bucket shop in Newest, the boy runs up
Broadway TO WALL down Wall and Exchange
place. and finally to the destined shop. But
in the meantime he has met half dozen or moro OF
"pals." and has said to them: Say Gully look at
this. Here's point fer YET. Got any money Lemme
have it," From one and the other he gets quarter
or IA dollar, something until he probably succeeds
in raising tho necessary S5-the lowest sum you can
play In a bucket-shop. Then he goes, before
delivering his message, TO another buckct-shop and
cries out the clerk. Say I'll sell you five " w at
| 125." The clerk takes his order and the money,
balances quarter his finger and says, Where did
you get that, sonnyP Sonny reaches out tor the
quarter and replies in brcathless haste: d" Old Gold
stein ordered boss to sell out this morning
Mean while tho bookkcercr has handed the order to
the telegraph operator and he appears to bs engaged
for several minutes in calling the operator who has
10 take the orc CT for transmission TO tho gentleman
representing the firm on the Stock Exchange. In
reality he is talking to some or his chums ON this
point and asking the 10 60 IL for him. Later
the other clerks get hold OF the information. poo
ia made and one slips ont to restaurant near by
which has telephone, and orders Northwest TO be
sold to the extent of his fellow workers pool During
tho morning there a number OF lolngers in the
front Of the Office, OF whom are Ia the habit
OF tipping the CLERKS One OF thsm says; Hello
Godfrey, any newsp And the clerk answers: Sell
Northwest Big thing" Two or three OF tho brokers'
customers then take walk. and IL happens to be in
the direction of buckotshop. la this way tho
spirit of gambling may be said to prevail throughout
the purlieus OF Wall Street
CALLING OUT THE QUOTATIONS.
These bucket-shop, arc nearly all fitted up in the
same manner, and in describing one you describe all
OF them They are generally in Easements ono OF
the largest however, Is the street level, and the
first thing that strikes you at the entrance II ocent
lunch stand which Is rather ssnitc OF tie absence
millionaires at such PLACES. At tbs TAR eud OF tho
room Is the clerk. an amilble and hlndso ns young
mau, who calls out initial, and fractions In lively,
persnaye voice inst a. the croupier at successful
rou.tte table might 10. In fact, II you have visited
Monte Carlo oI cannot bit wonder why after he has
shouted - d. L. and w. seyen-eighths.' he does not
add to 1t make your game while the ball rolls J1st
rs any Other crOupier might do. Early IN the morH'ns
he has no mead to do this shouting. He has before
him at the desk any number OF people who have
f.yorite number upon which they desire % play or
"copper" II is really similar to gambling on
roulette table with tins triang difference. AT the
few remaining tables in Europe tho gamblers dream
dreams, which according TO a code are reduced to
numbers. In this case the gambler or Spectator
gets 10 early reads tho newspapers sees the brokers
clerks "a soon as the offices OPEN and. as rnlc,
for halt an hour after the bucheshoJs open there is
rush 10 the counter
II Won stroll in while this first hour is passing you
find the clerk calling out quotations all the tine, aud
the cashier oucs in q way clshIng In the chips, or
slips of paper which represent certain purchases.
Over the latters desk is IA notice that the company
refuses any business except with the understanding
that tho actual delivery OF the stock sold - under
stood or contem plated. But this, OF course, is we'll
md rsood By those who tho place, as are certain
other notices: Commissions IL straight" aud a
board on which il written Profits on the following
lnited TO per cent" IL used to be that oger per
cont roht these bucketshops refused to lquidate,
but no adays there are shops in which only few
stocks likely 90 have are limited, and others
where there is no limit In these latter places the
odds seem TO he in favor OF the Spectator. For
instance he pats up ms 80 margin Oh the rise OF
a certain stock, and it falls CONT Then lie IL wired
out But supposins it goes up one, two, or ven ten
points the bucket-sbop proprietor pays the advance
whenever his customer closes Some weeks ago
Jake Talman bought &C. at 517s And here. by
| the way, comes in another pointer "a to the way
bn,ncss il done In these bucketshops The 81 y read
i'm his order 30, because the commission Is straight
| IL taken out before the game begins, as one might
say. Jake " had put mp margin OF Tlo which was
| 10 per cent ten shares. Tho stock went up ten
points in the course OF the next week. and the pro,
/ prietor OF this particular gambling saloon advised
Jake" to hold on to it until 1t reached l2l2. and
then said he, will frame It Tor you by this he
| meant that he would take :" Jdkc's" order showing
/ in how short time he had made twelve ana hall
times his Investment. aud put IL in frame as bait
for other I" suckers" Unfortunately both for Jake